Olivia’s Story

Like any child, Olivia craved the love and attention of her mother, but her mother had one priority – supporting her addiction to heroin. When the drugs ran out, she began selling Olivia to local child molesters. All throughout her childhood, Olivia suffered through being sold for sex repeatedly. She experienced constant abuse, neglect, and malnourishment.

As a preteen, Olivia was taken into Child Protective Services. Tragically, her case managers failed to understand, address, or even acknowledge the depth and complexity of Olivia’s trauma after a childhood of sex trafficking. Acting out on her trauma, Olivia continually ran away from, or was kicked out of, group homes for bad behavior.

A Cycle of Abuse

Once out on her own – but still not an adult – Olivia fell back into a cycle of abuse. It was all she’d ever known. She found herself drawn to men who physically, emotionally, and sexually abused her. Eventually, Olivia found herself pulled back into sex trafficking. One day, her boyfriend couldn’t pay his bills, so he forced her to have sex with other men. The situation was excruciatingly familiar.

Although she managed to escape this abusive relationship, Olivia wound up homeless, addicted to drugs to cope with her pain, and extremely vulnerable to being sexually exploited over and over again.

“No one can ever take my education away from me.”  – Olivia

Receiving services through The Dragonfly Home helped Olivia get back on her feet. She worked hard to make sure she never had to go back to “the life” or become homeless ever again. Olivia had never finished high school. Through tutoring services and studying hard, Olivia earned her GED. Now she is working toward going to college.